Collection: Perkins Wine and Spirits Store: Brisbane CBD

The Perkins wine and spirits store in Brisbane was closely linked to the growth of the city’s brewing and liquor industry in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The business originated with Perkins & Co., whose founders expanded into Brisbane in 1872 after acquiring the City Brewery in Mary Street, building a large and influential brewing operation that dominated the surrounding area by the 1880s. 12 As the company grew, it diversified into the wholesale and storage of alcoholic products, leading to the construction of a dedicated Perkins Wine & Spirit Store at 138 Mary Street around 1901. 2 This purpose-built storehouse functioned as part of a broader industrial complex, supporting the distribution of wine and spirits alongside the brewery’s production activities. 2 The expansion reflected Brisbane’s increasing demand for imported and locally produced liquor, as well as the city’s role as a commercial hub. In 1928, the Perkins business merged with another major brewing firm to form Castlemaine Perkins Ltd, after which operations were gradually relocated to Milton, marking the decline of the inner-city warehouse’s original function. 23 Today, the former Perkins wine and spirits store remains a heritage-listed building, representing an important phase in Brisbane’s commercial and industrial history and illustrating the evolution of the city’s alcohol trade from small-scale brewing to large corporate enterprises. 2

References:

• 138 Mary Street, Brisbane – Wikipedia 1
  
• Castlemaine Perkins – Wikipedia 2
  
• City Brewery, owned by Perkins & Co., Brisbane (State Library of Queensland) 3